BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei: Glittering jewels and the echoes of a 17-gun salute marked the climax of wedding celebrations for the daughter of one of the world’s wealthiest men, the Sultan of Brunei.
Princess Hajah Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah, 32, and Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini, 29, were presented to the royal court in a lavish traditional ceremony at the sultan’s 1,700-room palace yesterday.
Although the couple were legally wed on Thursday after signing the marriage contract, yesterday’s event marks the height of more than a week of festivities in the tiny oil-rich Muslim sultanate on Borneo island.
The bride, dressed in a crystal-beaded beige and silver gown, was ushered into the throne room by sixteen royal guards carrying ceremonial spears and shields.
She was seated at the head of the hall in front of 3,000 guests, including Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Philippines President Benigno Aquino and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Visibly nervous, the groom, wearing beige and gold brocade to complement his wife’s ensemble, was escorted to the bridal dias where the sultan took Ruzaini’s hand and placed it on the bride’s forehead — a symbolic blessing and gesture of affection in Malay culture. Two pots of crystal flowers, with eggs tied on to the stalks, were placed next to the bride and groom on the dias to represent the hope of a fertile marriage.
The brief 20-minute ceremony concluded with the state religious leader reading a prayer for the newlyweds asking for God’s blessing of the union.
A state banquet was be held in the evening, where Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and other foreign dignitaries are expected to attend.
Queen Elizabeth II also sent a message to the Brunei royal family — which has ruled the sultanate for 600 years — congratulating the newlyweds and wishing them “a happy wedding day and many blessed years together.”
Brunei’s sultan celebrates daughter’s wedding
Brunei’s sultan celebrates daughter’s wedding
Lebanese singer Fayrouz’s second son dies just months after his brother
- Hali Rahbani’s passing described as ‘painful loss’ to family
- Elder brother, composer Ziad, died in July last year
LONDON: Hali Rahbani, the son of renowned Lebanese singer Fayrouz and her late husband, composer Assi Rahbani, has died at the age of 68.
Lebanon’s Minister of Information Paul Morcos announced the news on X. He described it as a “painful loss for a family that has given Lebanon and the world an invaluable artistic and humanitarian legacy.”
Rahbani’s death comes less than six months after his brother, Ziad, the acclaimed composer and playwright, died at the age of 69.
Hali, who had physical and intellectual disabilities, was confined to a wheelchair and was cared for by his mother. He was last seen in public in July at his brother’s funeral in Beirut, which was attended by thousands of mourners.
Fayrouz, 91, had four children with Rahbani. The elder of her two daughters, Layal, died in 1988 at the age of 29. Her second daughter, Rima, born in 1965, is an artist and singer.
The Rahbani family were key figures in Lebanon’s golden era of musical theater from the late 1950s to 1975.
